


What It All Could Be

by Annabelle_Rivers



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-02 10:41:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16785334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annabelle_Rivers/pseuds/Annabelle_Rivers
Summary: "Gaston, I've known you for a long time and I have never seen you show fear before." As Belle suspected, he grunted and started to pull away before she hurried to finish her thought. "Please just listen. I- I like that you are being honest. It's what I had wanted before when we…""When we what?" he asked, his voice soft but pleading. "I've been trying to put a word on what we were before. On what I destroyed."Belle felt her throat tighten, a lump of unshed emotions hitting her all at once. "I don't know," she whispered. "We were...us. A together form of us. We were young."





	1. Chapter 1

You could be my favourite place  
I've ever been  
I got lost in your willingness  
To dream within the dream

You could be my favourite faded fantasy  
I've hung my happiness upon what it all could be

And what it all could be  
What it all, what it all could be  
What it all, what it all could be  
With you

-Damien Rice

* * *

Modern AU - Belle X Gaston - American City - Coffee Shop AU

* * *

Gaston really wished his friend had chosen a less crowded section of the metro to meet him today.

It was bad enough he had to drive over four hours into the city with a packed bag in his backseat and a receipt for a tuxedo rental in his glove compartment. LeFou could have at least given him a few hours to settle in before his phone buzzed with the address to a local coffee shop and an insistent message to meet him there as soon as possible.

Walking through the cacophony of noise between the tall buildings did nothing to ease his nerves and neither did the pointed looks he was receiving from women and a few men as he passed by. There had been a time when looks like that would be the highlight of his day. He would have puffed his chest in pride and probably stopped to chat up one of the blushing, young women. Only things had changed.

Coming back into the city this weekend was bringing back a different collection of memories- ones where his habit of preening for the crowds had left him more alone than ever. As disgruntled as he felt in the moment, Gaston knew his friend was nervous about the weekend ahead so he was working hard to stamp down his own feelings and try to be there for one of the few friends he had left.

Wherever he was heading was bound to be trendy as Lefou's fiance Stanley had better tastes than two men raised out in the country did. Gaston was thankful he had thought to change out of his tan Carhartt jacket for a better fitting and nicer leather one LeFou had sent for Christmas the year before. It would make his friend happy to see it get some use.

As he worked his way through the narrow sidewalks of downtown, Gaston couldn't help but keep an eye out for a certain brunette he knew had moved to the city around the same time LeFou had, even though logically he knew the likelihood of spotting her was slim in such a busy area. Still, it was a hard habit to break as he kept seeking out her face in those he passed by, half hoping to see her honey-brown eyes look back at him and half flinching at the thought the next person he passed really could be her.

At last, he reached the coffee shop, silencing his phone's buzz on the maps app Gaston slipped past two women with long, blonde dreads sipping green juice and reached for the wooden door of the shop, pushing it without taking notice of the name. The cleaning of the bell attached the door was so unexpected it took him a moment to step further inside.

What he had been expecting to be some posh and sleek coffee bar was actually an older looking place filled with wooden features, overstuffed chairs and couches and a wall along the far side of tall, wooden bookshelves filled with books. It felt cozy and oddly familiar. When Gaston noticed the roses placed at each table, it was the last detail he needed to trigger thoughts of the beautiful brunette from his past. The cafe could practically have been Belle Duerre's own living room and he hoped for the sake of keeping his temper that LeFou wasn't up to something dangerous. His thoughts continued to travel back to remembering the way Belle's fingers would trail across a bookshelf and how she always kept fresh roses at her dinner table, except for one time when she accepted a bouquet of wildflowers from him. One time that could have been more if he hadn't been such an idiot.

With relief, Gaston spotted LeFou waving his arms back and forth over his head to get his attention and for about the tenth time that morning, he shoved the thoughts of _her_ away.

"Settle down, now," he admonished gently as he approached his friend's table and opened his arms wide for a hug. Gaston was ever grateful that LeFou had forgiven him for his rudeness to him in the past. It has taken time but now they had an ever deeper and more honest friendship, one filled with true support and never the haggling for attention it once had. Sometimes Gaston thought if it wasn't for LeFou's weekly emails and phone calls, he would go weeks without talking to anyone he could call a friend.

His friend's returned greeting caught his attention. "Gosh, Gaston it's good to see you! Sit sit sit!" Gaston was ushered into the chair next to LeFou's and handed a thick piece of cardstock with a printed menu on it. Looking down, it was hard to decipher most of the items claiming to be coffee and he bit back a grunt at the list marked as 'Half-Sandwiches' on the back. _Half a sandwich?_ _Such a city thing_ , he thought. _Can't give a man a full meal._

"So," LeFou began, dragging out the end of the word for damn near three beats. "Tell me how it's been back home? Did those sisters manage to lure you into their web yet?"

This time, Gaston couldn't hold back the grunt. "No, I've got no time for their petty dramas. Enough to do in setting up the lodge as it is."

There was little need to go into more detail. LeFou had a financial stake in the lodge he was setting up north, a place for those who enjoyed hunting to learn more about eco-friendly practices and get involved in preserving wildlife areas. It was win-win for everyone involved. The hunters could have a more sustained source and the preservationists could see the results of their efforts in action. It even gave his LeFou a way to stay connected to the hunting culture he used to love before finding his way into the city. So far, Gaston had a good relationship built between the various interest groups and with the addition of funding from the Ruffed Grouse Society, he was well on his way to build his dream.

At last his requested cup of black coffee was delivered to their table along with an iced latte and a plate of tiny yellow macaroons for LeFou who quickly scooped up the three cookies, one after the other with a sheepish grin on his face. "I've been a bit stressed," he offered as an explanation but Gaston waved it off, wishing LeFou didn't feel the need to apologize for eating. The man was one of the kindest he had ever known and if his only vice was a bigger appetite then LeFou was a saint in his book.

Taking a sip of the coffee, he said. "I'm picking up my tux tomorrow morning. Do you need me to take care of any other errands? I have nothing else to do around here."

It was his friend's turn to wave him off. "Nah, Stanley's brothers and sister are in town and have everything in order already. They don't even need me to do anything and I'm a groom!" LeFou leaned closer then, his dark eyes darting around them. Gaston furrowed his brow and looked around as well, wondering what had come over the man next to him. Eventually, LeFou spoke again in a hushed tone. "Besides, a free day means you could check in on a special...and _single_...someone."

There was no need to voice who the special someone LeFou whispered about was. In all of their conversations about her, though they were less and less often as they years past, Gaston rarely said her name at all. Images of thick, chestnut hair piled into a high bun and a ghost of smile on pink lips flooded his mind.

"Single? What happened to what's-his-name?" Gaston asked, sighing as the topic he was dreading was being brought up not even five minutes in.

Taking a long swig of the whipped cream topped latte LeFou smirked. "Well, it turns out they were too similar after all. She broke it off with him, _Adam_ , because she said she was bored."

"Bored?" he repeated, his brows knitting in confusion. "That was her word? Or yours?"

"Yes! _Bored!_ She came over to our condo one night... in tears, I swear it... saying Adam wanted to do nothing but sit around and read with her. She wanted to take trips and explore things but he was such a homebody who thought reading about adventures was enough. Imagine that, eh? She got bored with reading next him! She told us there was no spark anymore once they settled into life here. She said it broke her heart to hurt him but Stanly assured her a man like that would find a new girl in no time." At Gaston's raised eyebrow, LeFou sputtered out, "He's a bit blunt. But anyhoo - now Belle's back in school and doing quite well for herself."

_Interesting._ "You know, LeFou, this place," he nodded his head towards the exposed brick wall beside them with a large map of Paris. The coffee shop was a bit too familiar. Gaston continued in a lowered voice, "It reminds me a bit too much of her to be a coincidence. Any reason why I'm sitting in her dream world right now?"

The chuckle LeFou emitted convinced Gaston there really was something underfoot. "Can you blame me, old pal, for wanting to see if you still felt the same way about our Belle? Yeah, yeah... I'll admit it, this is her store. She opened it up less than a year ago and we think she's doing great with it!"

His use of the word _our_ flared a protective streak in him and he felt his arms flexing in response. Quickly the shorter man added, "She's not here I promise. And she suspects you are coming in for the wedding but I haven't spoken to her in a couple of weeks. You can relax, Gaston. I asked you to meet me here when I knew she wouldn't be around." Once again, Gaston felt irritation churning and his friend was quick, as always, to pick up on it. "But, but...I did it more for those who work here to see you around. Not to upset you but to see if her hearing you were here would stir up some old feelings."

"You're meddling, LeFou," he warned in deeper tone.

At that he was given another sheepish grin from the soon-to-be-married man. "You used to like it when I meddled. Just trust me on this one."

* * *

_If that tall man of pure muscle is one of Stanley's brothers you better tell LeFou to set a girl up!_

Belle looked up from her notetaking to see the odd text lighting up her phone's screen. Usually, she would ignore group texts from the baristas at the coffee shop since most of them were bits of gossip or complaints being sent out to their group and never really meant for 'the boss lady' to respond to. Except this was particularly odd since she had met Stanley's brothers and they were all as lanky as the flamboyant groom.

_Man of muscle?_ She quickly texted back and then her jaw quite literally dropped.

_Oh._

It hit her exactly who the stranger. There was only one person LeFou would have brought to her shop on a week where visitors from their hometown were expected and only _one_ man she knew who could be described as a 'tall man of pure muscle.'

Oh, she should have expected this! Since her and Adam's breakup a few months earlier she had heard more about what good things Gaston was doing back in her hometown than ever before.

First, there were texts from Stanley boasting about Gaston's lodge, peppered into the middle of other conversations as if it was a casual reference. Then, Facebook messages and forwarded pictures from LeFou started after that along with emailed links to the local newspaper about Gaston's volunteer work with helping rebuild the elementary school after a big storm. Of course, Stanley had followed after with stories about how exciting it must be for _their old pal_ to be starting his own business and working as a volunteer firefighter. All things Belle really didn't need to sneak into her late-night fantasies as she was trying desperately to forget _both_ Adam and Gaston in the hopes of someday having a new and better relationship with someone new.

"Dammit!" she cursed aloud.

It was no good that he was here and in her coffee shop of all places. That arrogant and disturbingly handsome jerk would only bring trouble just as she was starting to move on from her last heartbreak and she was sure he was mocking her choice of business just like he used to when he heard of her dreams to move down to the city. Belle let out a frustrated sigh and pushed her notebooks aside to grab her phone again, this time scrolling to find LeFou's name highlighted in her contacts list. With thumbs typing away furiously she sent the text before she let the butterflies in her stomach make her wimp out.

_Get him out of my shop or I swear I will tell Stanley what you said about his mother!_

There. Belle smiled knowing that message would do the trick for all the sweetness she was known for, she was equally known to go to any lengths necessary to protect what was close to her heart and dammit, _Cup o' Love_ was hers!

All hopes of returning to her studying were gone and her betraying mind went back to the image of 'man of muscle' sitting at one of _her_ tables and drinking coffee from one of _her_ mugs. It should have continued to irk her but Belle found her emotions leaning in another direction altogether which only added to her feelings of unease. As she should have expected, given how many romance novels she had read over the years, this wedding/hometown reunion weekend was turning out be one of emotional mayhem indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Belle stood before her cramped closet, contemplating two very different options. It pained her to admit, if only to herself, how much of her time the day before had been spent fretting over the arrival of Gaston. Adding that to the wedding happening in two days and all that worry had turned getting dressed for her day into a much bigger decision.

It felt like choosing armor.

There was the temptation to put on her oldest pair of jeans and a faded blue hoodie, polka-dotted with bleach stains from an art project gone awry years ago. This way she could hide under the upturned hood and the biggest pair of sunglasses she could find from the convenience store two floors below her apartment and make it through the day unnoticed. _Should be easily enough._

After all, she was only going into work to do some quick paperwork in the office to help ease her mind for the long weekend off. A new girl was being trained in by her staff and she knew they worked best when they could mentor someone new without comments from her. It would be much easier to spend the weekend at her coffee shop and keep her mind busy with all the things she needed to do there.

Belle's urge to hide away or even to cancel for this weekend's festivities was strong but her will to not disappoint her friends was thankfully stronger. As she reached for her hoodie, she looked again at the second option for the day which was now nearly as irresistible.

She could select one of her favorite day dresses, a light yellow A-line with a bit of gold thread on the trim despite the chill in the air of a mid-September morning in a notoriously cold city. It would be a bold choice, very bold. It conjured ridiculous images of her stepping into the shop with a ray of magical sunlight behind her and men all around swooning, including the one she didn't want to think about. If she had any hope of pulling off the look, she would need to arrange her hair in perfectly formed waves and add mascara and liner to her eyes to accentuate their color, which was a hell of a lot of work for a Thursday morning.

 _Your eyes were always what he talked most about,_ a nagging voice reminded her, dashing that idea as she remembered Gaston calling out to her across the street about her 'honey-brown eyes I so adore!' Some days it would flatter her but most of the time it left her feeling cheap like she was another of the many women he flirted with endlessly. Whatever had happened between them, the tender moments and stray kisses, it had begun to all feel like yet another one of Gaston's games. Jealousy, hurt and confusion had been the wedge between them and then he had-

"No! Stop it!" Belle whispered furiously, shaking her head to stop the memory from coming back.

Her diversion worked for a moment as she continued to thumb through the content of her closet until another one surfaced. The look in his eyes when Belle had told Gaston at last that she was leaving their hometown to live with Adam in the city. She had assumed for months the pain he seemed to feel was more about him not winning her as if she was another of his hunted prizes but after a few late nights spent talking with LeFou had left her feeling there was something more there. That was something she didn't like thinking about _at all_.

"Nope," she said firmly, popping the end of the word loudly as she reached out for her old hoodie instead. She knew looked foolish with the hood tied up tight and the bug-sized glasses hiding her face yet she would rather look like an idiot than to run into one.

One of many of Gaston's old teasing remarks had centered around that she wasted her beauty away in plain clothes by not dressing up as girly as she could. _As she should,_ Belle remembered correctly. The pompous black-haired man would nag her about not showing off her looks in the way he preferred his women to do, like the awful Bimbette triplets who were always following him around with their hair and makeup overdone no matter the time of day.

As much as she knew that if she saw him today dressed _perfectly pretty_ that it would leave his jaw hanging she couldn't bring herself to do it. How could she reprimand him for the games he played if she went along with one herself? It seemed comfort and invisibility was her best choice for today.

All that thought turned out to be for nothing as she rode her bike along her familiar path to work, not spotting one single handsome hunting enthusiast along the way and instead enjoying the crispness of the air and the bits of sunshine peeking out behind the clouds. As always a bike ride was just the thing she needed to clear her head and Belle found herself giving Phillipe, her chosen name for her Schwinn, an extra grateful pat before closing the bike lock securely.

Inside her shop, the buzzing of the morning crowd made it easy for her to slip in. With little more than a wave to her staff, Belle tucked away into the safety of her office.

A few hours later, she emerged feeling lighter in knowing they were not only having a good month but a _really_ good one that meant she could squirrel away some of the excess revenue for the winter. Hot coffee or not, stores like hers were bound to lose money as the temperatures plummeted. With another friendly wave, she slipped back outside and quickly mounted her bike for the journey home, looking forward to an afternoon spent curled up with a new novel. _One day down. Another three to go._

It turned out her countdown came too soon. Belle paused at a stop light to check her phone and saw a new message from LeFou.

_Drinks tonight at Lumiere's! Just us hicks! 7 pm sharp- don't be late!_

He ended the text with a string of emoji's that Belle could hardly see much less decipher, assuming the pursed lips and water drops following a whole line of differently colored drinks and hearts were something sexual in nature. Which usually meant Stanley was using his fiance's phone in order to get her attention. Between the two of them, she wasn't sure anymore as it seemed they had been plotting for Gaston and her to run into each other for a while now. Including the phrase, _just us hicks_ , almost guaranteed their usual group of three at Lumiere's was going to have a fourth person added.

Belle spent the afternoon as planned, enjoying time curled up in her favorite chair with the latest book published in a series she enjoyed. Hours flew by as multiple mugs were added to the little table beside her until at last, she was reaching the climactic scene of the book. The main heroine was realizing she truly did love the large and boisterous anti-hero and then she went running into this arms. Just as the couple was about to kiss, Belle jolted.

"Ugh!" Belle shot out of her chair, letting the book drop with an abnormal lack of care. Reading was supposed to take her mind off of the fact she was most likely seeing Gaston tonight not bringing him back to the forefront as the smart and pretty heroine was dreaming of kissing a man completely wrong for her. "Girls like that are supposed to be with nice, sweet gentlemen, not men like… like.."

Her ranting was cut short as the realization hit her and she sank back into her hair with her elbows on her knees.

She _was_ the pretty and smart heroine in her own story and she had ended up with the nice, sweet gentleman who had ridden her away into the sunset for a new and exciting life in the city. Except her happy ever after hadn't worked out after all. It turned out that the sweet guy was too kind. Too gentle. _Too boring_. The passion left almost as soon as they had moved in together. She couldn't even argue properly with him! If she tried Adam would try to placate her and refocus his attention back to whatever he was reading.

Which all made her feel foolish. That all she wanted was some spark, some heat, and here she had the perfect man. Too perfect.

Belle had worried for months that her relationship with Adam wasn't working because something was wrong with her. Worry had churned into a nasty, cruel string of internal criticism as she started to view some of her own habits and flaws until it got to the point that she no longer cared whose fault it was. There was nothing between them anymore. The great love story of her life had quickly turned into morning sneaking out before Adam would wake up and nights spent out later and later to avoid the silence between them when they were alone together.

The relationship needed to end, she needed to let him go so they could both live a better life. It had sparked changes in her, making her desires to go back to school even stronger and even changed the way she interacted with most people. It was the good Belle found from the breakup that had motivated her to keep improving the coffee shop until it really became a place she was proud of. Yet still, she felt raw from the experience as if she couldn't trust her heart anymore.

In a far more despondent mood that only made her want to cancel even more, Belle forced herself to start to get ready for a night out. Half-heartedly she pulled on a blouse and less worn looking jeans, still not doing anything more to her hair then put it in a ponytail and outright refusing to touch any makeup.

Whoever was going to be there tonight would have to deal with her as she was, plain and all.

* * *

 _The most beautiful girl in town_.

The old accolade Gaston had given Belle Duerre ran through his mind the second he saw her step into view past the entrance of the crowded restaurant. LeFou stood as he had earlier with his arms waving wildly over his head to help her find their table near the bar. Belle smiled then, the motion lighting up her face in the most stunning way that made it too hard for him to tear his gaze away from her.

Gaston couldn't be sure if she had known he would be there or not but something in the way the sky-blue top she wore flowed around her figure and the way her entire face was free to see with her hair pulled back, the ends curling down her neck made him hope she had. Those were the type of egocentric thoughts he had been working hard to subdue and yet seeing the beautiful brunette nearly broke his composure.

"Um, earth to Gaston! Your jaw's on the floor there, buddy," LeFou said under his breath as his partner rose to hug Belle, breaking his line of sight.

Clearing his throat, Gaston nodded in thanks and straightened up again hoping to look more casual. Belle sat between the couple with her eyes still on Stanley as they caught up on wedding preparations, her laugh coming easy. It did not go unnoticed by anyone around the table that she had let to look over at him. It wasn't as if a man built like Gaston could go accidentally unnoticed either.

He had never like being ignored. In the past it had always stirred feelings of doubt in him, a crippling emotion for Gaston to deal with. _Two can play this game_ , he thought as he turned to LeFou.

"So, remind me again of what to expect at the reception?"

The two old friends began to chat, each keeping one straying eye back on Belle and Stanley and both looking away when they saw the other pair looking back. For several minutes, it looked like their table would be split for the rest of the night and Gaston wondered if he should leave before his temper flared more at her obvious attempts to ignore him completely.

"Oh, this is just ridiculous," Belle said loudly, at last, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "We are all grown people now and need to act like it." He bristled at her chastising before he noticed how her head tilted down and a bit to the left, a tell he knew meant she was also admonishing herself. She always had such high expectations for everyone around her, including herself.

She caught him looking at her, their eyes meeting at last. "Agreed," he replied, ignoring the shocked faces on either side of him. "Belle," he reached a large hand across the table hoping she would accept it and smiling with relief when she did. He shook her hand in a respectful greeting, careful to not hold on for too long. "It's lovely to see you again."

She quirked an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look to LeFou who simply shrugged. "You as well, Gaston." Belle smiled then a real one like he hadn't seen directed his way in years. Not since that sunny afternoon by the lake when she had accepted his invitation for a date for the first, and only, time. It did something funny to his insides to see that smile again.

Stanley waved over a waiter with a bun on top of his head and handlebar mustache. Gaston felt his friend's elbow digging into his arm and they shared a quiet chuckle without saying a word.

"I think we need drinks now, huh? Hmm… let's see. Okay, we'll have two Ruby Reds and _Belle_ ," Stanley emphasized her name with giving her an appraising look. "Oh ho ho, yes. She'll have a The Drunken Botanist." He glanced over to see her register the name of the drink and nod enthusiastically, the tiniest hint of a blush forming on her cheeks. Stanly turned his head back to Gaston before adding, "And you? What would you like?"

"Water for me. Thank you." He looked again eagerly over to Belle to see her honey-brown eyes widen at his answer. "Gave it up recently," Gaston offered in explanation.

She gave him a soft smile as LeFou patted his arm. Soon the drinks arrived and conversation fell into the familiar territory of catching up to what people 'back home' were doing and laughing together at how different life in the city was from how they grew up.

Occasionally Belle would look back at him again, the tension between them lowering more and more as the night went on. He raised his still mostly full water glass to her in a silent salute which she returned with enthusiasm and a giggle that made his chest tighten.

_She really is the most beautiful girl in town._


	3. Chapter 3

An hour later, suspiciously almost on the dot, LeFou and Stanley made a hasty excuse to leave their little party early. Gaston watched with amusement as his much shorter friend became a crutch for his fiance and the happily tipsy pair hopped out the restaurant together, waving goodbyes along the side windows. He waved back, feeling lighter from the much-needed fun of the evening.

Together Belle and he sat in silence, both sipping on their drinks and strictly avoiding eye contact. Gaston tried to be stealthy in glancing her way, appreciating the flush across her face from the alcohol before he was caught and given a pointed look by the brunette across from him. It was a look he was more than used to, a reproachful half-glare usually given after he complimented her. In the past, it had been one of the most frustrating things about Belle that she never just accepted his praises with a smile like other pretty girls did and yet it was also one of the traits he liked most about her. She wasn't easy to sway.

Gaston had made it his mission to convince her they would be great together, nearly singing with joy when she finally accepted his offer for a date after months of their friendship blooming. Things really had been good between them, despite their differences and they started to explore what each could offer the other. Until it all ended _that night_ he had crossed a line he could never go back across and Belle had left him standing alone on her front porch, the door slamming behind her.

She hadn't spoken another word to him for several more months, despite his daily attempts to get her to forgive him until one morning she came to say goodbye with her beloved Adam standing close behind her. Adam, an outsider from their group of friends who had been taking Belle into the cities for lavish evenings at the theatre and the finest restaurants. Gaston had hated him, kicking up his attempts to impress Belle to nearly ridiculous levels, all while she continued to ignore him.

When it was all over and Belle had literally moved on, at last, he had been more lost than ever before.

Three days later, his closest friend had found him passed out on the floor of the local bar and told him that he was leaving town too with Stanley for a better life, inspired by Belle's bravery to try something new. Gaston regretted still how he had swung his arms wildly in an attempt to hurt LeFou, lashing out violently with anger at being abandoned again but it turned out being left behind had been the best thing for him. Even if it had taken him so long to figure out that it had.

The sound of a scraping chair pulled Gaston from his thoughts to see Belle standing in front of him.

"The coffee here is terrible. Do you want to come with me to my shop?"

"Isn't it closed by now?" he asked, wishing he hadn't in case the hesitation would make her change her mind. In response, she jingled a set of keys at him and motioned towards the exit with her head. Quickly, he pulled out a few dollars to add to hers on the table and grabbed his jacket following her closely out of the crowded room.

They walked together again in silence and he caught her rubbing at her right wrist, a nervous habit he had seen from her a few times before.

As much as spending time around Belle made him light up, he didn't want to make anything worse for her. Gaston wondered if she knew she often too kind for her own good, giving nearly everyone chance after chance to prove her opinions of them wrong. It was a trait he had taken full advantage of before but now the thought of her staying around him tonight out of a sense of obligation made Gaston feel sick.

"You don't have to do this, you know." The words came out barely above a whisper as if his own mouth was trying to stop him from speaking.

She turned to face him then, the shadows across her face hiding her eyes. He heard her let out a slow exhale and saw her fingers move away from her wrist. "It's just coffee, right?"

"Just coffee," he replied, hoping to convey in those two words his agreement to respect her boundaries. He wondered of how much LeFou had told her about the changes he had made in his life and if that was why she had invited him in the first place. Whether it was out of pure pity or a need to be kind, he kept walking forward thankful for whatever motivation made Belle want to spend a little more time with him.

He watched curiously as she fumbled with her keys to unlock the store he now noticed was aptly named _Cup O' Love,_ resisting the urge to step in and take over for her. Finally, the door swung open, hitting the old school bell hanging above it and she held up a hand for him to wait there as she went around the corner to turn on the lights, the blue glow from her cell phone guiding her way.

"You okay over there?" Gaston called out when he heard a little _ow_ sounding from the corner before the room lit up.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine!" Belle turned back around the corner, looking a little more frayed than she had before as if finding the lights had turned into more of battle then she was letting on. He smirked knowingly at her, letting his eyes focus on the fallen strands of hair that escaped from where the rest was pulled back and how one side of her blouse had moved back to reveal her shoulder. She pursed her lips in annoyance back at him and Gaston turned away from her so she could put herself back together.

"I'm assuming you like your coffee black," she called out and he turned back to see her starting up a few machines behind the corner. When he nodded in agreement, she added with a grin, "Very fitting. Alright so one black for you and a macchiato for me. Coming right up!"

There was something alluring at seeing her focused on setting things up, her honey-brown eyes narrowed at various tiny screens. Gaston tried and failed to not let his own eyes drift over the curve of her bottom as she leaned over the bar to grab a bottle of syrup. "Hazelnut," Belle explained, catching his attention back to her face. "I always like to add some hazelnut syrup to mine."

He smiled, amused at her choice. " _Very fitting_."

"That's not why," Belle replied sharply, rolling her eyes as she went back to finish making her drink.

There was no need for him to mention anything more, he knew she was thinking of the hazelnut trees along his property back home. When things had been good between them, they had spent a few afternoons tending the bushy trees and Belle had collected hazelnuts in the large pockets of her overalls to enjoy later when she would snuggle beside him on his large couch watching documentaries about exotic places long into the night.

Gaston grinned again and took the mug of black coffee set on the bar, adding only a hint of cinnamon, shaking his head no at the offer of sugars and cream. Once hers was ready, she joined him at a table by the bar, mimicking their positions at Lumiere's Bar and Grill earlier.

"I have to ask," Belle started, "but you don't have to answer. You stopped drinking? Did- well," she hesitated then and he set his own mug down, giving what he hoped to be an encouraging look for her to continue. "When did it become a problem?"

It was an honest question. Honest and sharp and perfectly like Belle to ask it. He had been expecting her to ask more questions since his casual reference to his new-found sobriety earlier in the evening. Of all the things Belle was, forgetful was not one of them.

"Too damn long." He sighed deeply, settling more in his chair and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. "It seemed to be normal before. Work hard, drink hard and find a pretty girl to talk to." Gaston glanced up to check if she was offended at his admission but her face was calm. "Then we had our uh, _thing_ , and you said you didn't like it when I smelled like beer when I came over so I cut back."

The rest of his words stuck in his throat. It was one thing to be honest at a support group or in emails with LeFou and another altogether to tell the woman he had hurt the truth.

"Go on," she said softly, her own mug forgotten. He saw her hand reach out as if to touch him and quickly she drew it back into her lap.

_That's my fault too_ , the sullen thought came almost automatically.

After another deep inhale and exhale, he continued. "When you left with _him_ , I was angry. With you, _him_ and even LeFou and Stanley when they left town. I blamed everyone and kept to myself. A night out with a few rounds of beer became several nights in with whiskey. I was bad for a while...fucked more things up. I was becoming my dad faster than I ever thought I could."

Then, LeFou called one day and said he was going to help me invest in something I'd always wanted with a lodge but I had to clean up first. It wasn't easy and I made more messes while trying to do better but over time things got back on track. Therapy, self-help books, and the whole lot. Officially sober for eleven months after I had to re-set the clock two months in." He felt his heart pounding as they met eyes again and once more he had to stop himself from making a joke or lewd comment to ease the tension. It wouldn't do any good.

"That's more than a few months, Gaston. You shouldn't dismiss all your hard work so easily." Belle moved her hands back onto the table, this time not pausing as she slid them over his own, using her thumbs to stroke the back of his hands soothingly. "No matter what, I hope you know I'm proud of you. LeFou didn't tell me _this_ but I knew about what you're doing with your lodge."

He shrugged, uneasy in the bareness of the conversation. Before he could stop the words from barrelling out of his mouth, "I heard you left him finally." Her hands snatch back away from him and he cursed himself silently for ruining the moment.

"I don't want to talk about Adam with you, please don't ask about him again." Her chin rose as she looked him squarely in the eye. "Honestly, since it's only the two of us here, I'd like to make something perfectly plain. I'm honored that you shared with me about your sobriety, I really am. And I know LeFou cares about you..about both of us and only means well but this isn't going to be some romantic reunion weekend. You and I are not together for good reasons. Perhaps we could be sort of friends again, _maybe,_ but nothing more than that."

For the second time tonight, he felt the sting of knowing she needed to establish firm boundaries between them but he understood why.

Pushing back the things he wanted to say, the apologies he had practiced before, Gaston took a sip of his coffee before saying, "I told that meddler to let it be. It's true, I did think for a long time about us but you're right, Belle. No pushing." He held up three fingers in scout's honor, relief easing his shoulders when she smiled brightly at his response.

* * *

"And _then_ what happened!?"

Belle couldn't help but giggle at Stanley's eager response to her story. Tonight was the wedding rehearsal dinner and she had volunteered to spend the morning adding finishing touches the gift bags with Stanley while his two brothers and eldest sister took care of anything needed at the venue. It worked out perfectly since LeFou and Gaston were bound to spend the day together, the two were more like brothers than friends and after hearing last night of how much her dear friend had helped Gaston, she was sure their bond went deeper than she understood.

"Well, and then I made some sort of wild animal sound and hung up! I had to turn off my phone in case he called back. Can you imagine? Me, calling an ex in the middle of the night like a brainless twit!" Her own laugh took over as Stanley pounded his feet on the ground giddily, shaking their table and all the trinkets on top of it. She giggled back the mess of curls combed forward on this head kept bouncing even after Stanley had stopped moving.

Embarrassing as it was, it did feel better to tell someone of the mistake she almost made when she finally got back to her apartment the night before.

Thoughts of a handsome dark-haired man and green-tinged, hazel eyes that reminded her of walking through a forest kept invading her attempts to drift off to sleep. Frustrated, she had tried to read but walking over to the bookshelves in her living room only reminded her of a completely different man. The one she was supposed to have been with until she had ruined that one too. Belle had decided instead to grab her phone from the nightstand, scrolling through saved messages until she stumbled across one particularly naughty one from Adam.

In hindsight, she'd only gotten that text after weeks of trying to persuade him to mix up their nearly non-existent sex life, a marker of the dullness in everything else between them but she had been so thrilled to see him trying that she had thrown herself into the moment full force. All that was left were some awkward, blush-inducing memories and a selection of saved dirty texts which she suspected he had plagiarized from some book or website to appease her.

Thankfully, her desperate call to her ex-boyfriend had ended the moment she heard his deep voice on the other end, reality crashing around her at the sound. This weekend was going to be hard enough without a rebound with Adam Prince.

"Oh god, Belle, I'd pay good money to see the look on LeFou's face if he saw you back with Adam! You know," her friend leaned over to say in a stage whisper despite there being no one else around. "He's trying almost as hard to get you and Gaston hitched as he is in getting ready for our own wedding."

"Ugh, I know!" Belle held her hand to her forehead dramatically, giving into the light-hearted banter she usually shared with him. "And the bastard looks so good right now, too. Uh- LeFou does.. Not Gaston," she lied quickly, hoping Stanley would ignore her even though she knew the perfectly coiffed man in front of her would not let it pass.

Sure enough, he pulled out his phone right away, fingers dancing over the surface to no doubt share a more exaggerated version of what she'd said to his fiancé. "Oooh oooh, so you do think he's dreamy!"

"Oh no, you don't!" After a few attempts to wrench the gold tinted cellphone from his hands, Belle finally succeeded to take it back and stored it securely in her own pocket. Through her own chortles at the stunned look on Stanley's face, she threw a pinch of confetti at him and said, "If I say yes, will you get back to stuffing these bags and leave it be?"

The pair continued making the brightly covered gift bags as the subject switched from her love life, or very much lack thereof, to the upcoming honeymoon to France for Stanley and LeFou.

Belle listened with rapt attention as he ran through the itinerary again, envisioning herself on a trip similar once she could save up enough money from the shop. Maybe if she could make it drama free from this weekend, she could see about changing her course schedule for the next semester and plan a shorter trip to satisfy her itching to explore. Thoughts of strolling along the French countryside soon merged with a daydream of hiking alongside someone tall and muscular with a belly laugh that could echo off for miles. _Oh, damn._


	4. Chapter 4

At the sound of the Skype ringtone calling through her kitchen, Belle rushed over from where she had been reading the paper in the early morning sun to her small dining table. "Good morning, Papa!" she answered as her father, Maurice, adjusted his laptop so she could see his face better through her own screen.

No matter how many times they had these little internet dates since they both had moved further away from each other, her father always seemed to have the laptop screen tilted too far back and the volume turned down to an impossible level, but she never minded it as seeing his white eyebrows wiggling wildly as he concentrated on getting everything set up just right was one of her favorite things. Second, of course, to when he would finally fix his set up and look back at her with pride.

"Ah, there it is! Darn thing just needed a bit of tinkering." He looked over the rim of his glasses at her, smiling broadly. "And there she is, my Belle! How are you today, ma belle petite fleur?"

"Très bien!" Belle praised him and blew a little kiss to the screen. "Your French is shaping up nicely. I'm well, busy since now a new class as started with the online program I'm in and still working full time at the shop to keep it running."

Her father listened as she explained about the new hires and her eventual plan to extend store hours to draw in the late afternoon shoppers in the area. She knew her father worried about how much she was working, so she downplayed exactly how many late nights she had spent studying before getting to work before sunrise. All of it was well worth the work if it meant that someday her business could be run without her having to hover over it.

As the conversation slowed down, her father asked her, "Say, did you get those cookies Beatrice sent you to sample?"

"Just this morning," she replied, reaching over to grab the silver wrapped box with the white label reading 'Ms. Potts' Tea and Cookies' on the front of it.

Beatrice was a sweet, older woman her father had been casually dating, if such a term applied to a relationship like theirs, for a few months now. She was not only an excellent baker but blended her own tea combinations to sell at the farmer's market. She suspected that's where the two had met since Maurice's Landscape Paintings and Souvenirs was a regular stand there but her father had been selectively quiet as to how the good-natured woman had come into his life. Either way, it made Belle ridiculously happy to see her father moving on with his life at last after too many years spent grieving.

Jiggling it slightly in front of her screen to show him that she had it nearby, Belle added, "I haven't opened it yet since tonight is sure to be decadent but thank her for me, please? I'll dig into them soon and let her know which ones I'll want to order for the shop. It's the right touch I want for the counter sales."

She took another sip of her morning coffee, grinning when she saw her father do the same. The mug in his hand looked homemade, painted with bright colors and she wondered if Beatrice's grandson, Chip, had made it for him.

"Good, good! Now, how are things shaping up for the wedding? Did he arrive yet?" He asked with a darker look on his face, making it clear he was asking about Gaston.

Maurice Duerre was known for being protective of his daughter and had made quite the public display when he saw her run into the house crying one night because of him, making her promise to never see Gaston again. It had taken her the rest of the night to convince her father rushing off to the bar to fight the much larger and stronger man was completely out of the question and that while emotionally hurt, she would be okay in time.

Carefully, she said, "I wasn't sure he would come...and I think LeFou was having his doubts too. But, yes Papa, he's here and well, actually behaving. He's been doing really well for himself and seems more focused on helping his best friend than acting like a buffoon. Which is a nice change, actually."

He grunted, effectively ending that part of the conversation but not before adding, "He's certainly no Adam."

"You're right, he's not," she agreed quietly.

Perhaps for the better.

Several hours later, Belle stood anxiously in front of her apartment's front steps, fluffing down the dark cocktail dress she was wearing for tonight's rehearsal dinner and pulled her jacket tighter around her. At her meddling friends' insistence, Gaston was on his way to pick her up rather than her taking a cab over to the venue.

Belle was wise enough to know what LeFou and Stanley were trying to arrange but thankfully after her conversation with Gaston she knew that he was aware of their intention to hook the estranged pair back up. She felt better knowing there was an understanding between them now. Besides, she had sold her car over a year ago, preferring to travel by foot or bike which made more sense in the crowded city and a free ride to tonight's gathering was welcome.

Despite her insistence, mostly to herself, that there was nothing between them, being picked up by the dark-haired man made her feel entirely too much like it was a date. Something she hadn't experienced in quite a while. Belle wasn't sure if her nerves came from the fact it was Gaston coming to get her or that she was waiting on the side of the street in a dress to be picked up in the first place and yet it wasn't as uncomfortable as she would have imagined it.

Nerve-wracking, yes, but she wasn't known to back down from a challenge. A trait Belle was sure LeFou and Stanley were using against her.

As she spied his red pickup truck headed down her street she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of it. Nothing quite said Gaston like the blood red truck with the rust gathering around the fenders. She even wondered sometimes if he would end up buried in the damn thing. When he pulled up, she hurried over to the passenger door, not wanting him to come around and open it for her.

"It's been a decade since you got this truck, right? Isn't it time for an upgrade?" Belle asked.

"Good evening to you too, Belle," Gaston replied with a flash of a smile. She glanced over at him dressed in a white collared shirt with a dark tie, the brightness of the fabric highlighting his tanned skin, no doubt from his more active lifestyle. "And yes," he added as she climbed into her seat. "It's been about that long I guess, although that's not a pleasant reminder of how much older we're all getting."

"You're getting", she reminded him, happy to re-direct her thoughts with a bit of joking. "I'm two youthful years behind the rest of you, remember?"

He chuckled before pulling back onto the main road, glancing back down at the mapping app on his phone. "Oh, I remember. I don't think I'll ever forget the first time I saw you walking down by the bleachers. Took a nasty hit in practice that day because of it."

Belle felt her face heating up again, thankful that it was covered up by the darkening sky. "Yeah, I remember that too."

For a few minutes, they were both quiet and she suspected they were both lost in memories like they had found themselves in a few times the night before. She helped him navigate to the venue, surprised he didn't argue with her when she offered directions different from his phone. There really was a lot about him that had changed and yet he still had this Gaston-ness she had always found herself drawn too, even though she could never really admit to it.

As he pulled into the parking lot in front of the entertainment hall, she heard him clear his throat and waited quietly for him to speak but despite a few sharp inhales of breath he didn't make another sound.

He's nervous, she realized. Gaston is actually nervous around me.

The dinner was fantastic and Belle spent it a table surrounded by Stanley's family while Gaston sat with LeFou's uncle and a more random assortment of wedding party members. It made for a visual contrast to how the two grooms had grown up.

Stanley grew up with a larger family that embraced his sexuality while LeFou had been raised by a more conservative uncle who had taken a lot longer to accept his nephew's true self once he 'came out' a few months after high school. At the time, Belle had been hanging more with both LeFou and had seen the care he had for his friend when he would fret over never being fully accepted by his family. On one occasion, she remembered the pair holding hands and walking down the street together as if Gaston was using his popularity and intimidating size to dare anyone to say anything to or against LeFou.

She had kissed him that night for the first time, on the cheek, but still it meant something to her. It was those memories of Gaston's softer side that was making seeing him now all the more confusing.

A confusion that doubled when everyone around started tapping the sides of their glasses in encouragement as Gaston stood to give the first speech of the night.

"Good evening, everyone." He started in a deep, confident voice. "I'm Gaston Miller, for the few of you who don't already know me. Since the grooms want to ensure tomorrow is all about them...and understandably so because who would want this," Gaston gestured to himself dramatically, winking at the small crowd which earned him a few catcalls, "to distract the wedding guests. Hm? Well, they have graciously let me say a few words as LeFou's best man tonight so bear with me.

"I've known this man for a long time, long enough to not only know his actual first name" Belle smiled as LeFou faked a large gasp. Gaston chucked and continued,"Yes, yes. I was there!"

The crowd tittered and he waited until it was quiet again before speaking. "You might see me here today as a fairly confident man and, okay, okay... cocky at times but LeFou knew me back as a scrawny, little boy who came to our first years of school with tears still drying on my cheeks and went home with fresh, new ones. He could have ignored me or joined in when other kids teased me but LeFou made it his mission to make me laugh.

He made funny faces behind the teacher's back and big plans for childish pranks and he even found ways to compliment me on the things I was doing well at. No matter how much trouble it got him into with Mrs. Erickson, our fierce- I mean, favorite grade school teacher, he did anything to make my day better. A couple of months later and we were no longer just Ilan and Gaston, the outsiders...we were LeFou and Gaston- the dynamic duo. We stayed hooked at the hip all through school and I graduated mostly because he helped me." At this LeFou stood and made a little bow to the applause. Belle caught Stanley's eye and winked. The dynamic duo indeed.

Gaston continued, "LeFou even bedazzled a graduation cap for me to keep above my desk at home to remind me that we were going to make it. And today, we still are here...older and wiser, well on his part mostly, and the dynamic duo!" Belle applauded with the rest as Gaston paused with his arms spread out dramatically at the end, hints of his love of performance peeking out. He looked over the room before spotting her and his smile broadened.

LeFou raised his glass high, "No gets a crowd going quite like Gaston! Thank you, old friend."

"Oh, I have more," Gaston replied warmly and made a calming motion to the room. When he continued, his voice was more solemn and Belle found herself leaning forward to listen closely.

"This man is kind, encouraging, loyal and has a heart so big even I can't lift it. When these two finally admitted they liked each other at our high school graduation party, I knew my friend had found someone equally as kind. And getting to know you, Stanley, over these years has proven it. I've seen you work as a team to earn your next degrees, to create the life you have here together and I know you both have a lot ahead together. And, uh, well.. I've seen how each of you look at each other...and that says it all." Gaston paused, his eyes looking down at the white tablecloth for a few seconds before he lifted his head back to look at the soon to be married pair.

"LeFou's been my best friend for nearly my whole life. Even when I wasn't good to him, he's always been good to me. He'll always be there for you too, Stanley, as I know you will be for him." Belle watched closely as he turned to look at the now embracing couple, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. "I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

Gaston drove Belle home at the end of the night, his eyes focused on the road to keep himself from staring at the way she settled into his passenger seat sleepily, her honey brown eyes gazing at the moon through his window and the way her hair was starting to frizz from a night of being kept brushed to one side.

She would never believe him but he liked her hair more disheveled like it had been when they were comfortable together and she spent days with her brown locks tied up in a messy bun or windswept and wild. He always thought of it as meaning she was relaxed when she didn't feel the need to conform which Belle rarely did but he saw it in her sometimes that she felt the urge to look and act a certain way.

It's now or never, he thought and took a deep breath.

"Belle, saying what I did tonight in my speech made me realize I need to say something to you too. I'm sorry...truly sorry for hurting you. Multiple times. I'm sorry I thought keeping up with an act was more important than being honest." He sighed again, taking in her silence before continuing, "I was a jerk, well I'm still a jerk but I am working on that. You deserve better than what I did...what I am. I miss our friendship."

Hesitantly, he moved his eyes briefly from the road to look over at her, half-scared that she would be glaring at him for taking years to apologize without begging her to give him a second chance in return for it but saw something much sweeter beside him.

Belle was curled against the door, fast asleep. Gaston nodded, feeling lighter despite her not hearing him and concentrated on getting the beautiful brunette safely home.


	5. Chapter 5

Gaston wrestled with what to do next as he watched Belle nestle closer against the door, oblivious in her sleep to the world around her. It stirred up more emotions in him to watch her, bringing up wishful thoughts that he would have the right to brush away the hair starting to cover her face. That if he hadn't messed up, he could offer her his jacket to keep warm and she would take it without any hesitation.

What he really wanted to do was scoop her into his arms and carry her up the stairs to her apartment in a grand show of strength and caring, a part of him hoping she would wake slightly in his arms and be impressed by his kindness.

Of course, rationally, he knew this was the exact sort of behavior Belle found intrusive and overreaching, two words she had hurled at him before when they had argued before about what she called his 'horribly done heroics.' Especially since his only way of finding her exact apartment inside the complex would be to look inside the slim, grey purse tucked in her lap to fish out her ID and keys.

Good intentions or not, he decided it wouldn't do to give into his urges. Instead, he reached over gently to shake her shoulder and called her name softly, hoping to not startle her awake. Gaston watched as her eyelids fluttered until they finally opened, her irises mostly hidden in the darkness and yet he could see their unique color clearly in his mind as she sat up slowly, looking around in confusion.

"I fell asleep?" Belle asked with a groggy voice, tugging her fallen hair back behind her ears.

"Only for a few minutes."

"And you took me home?" Gaston couldn't help but smile as her bottom lip puckered.

"Of course," he answered. She sighed and began to run her fingers over her eyes, messing up what he thought had to be her mascara in a way that made her look even cuter. He opened his mouth to tell her she had smudged it but hesitated in case it made her more annoyed than thankful. Instead, he said, "Take your time waking back up, Belle, I'm in no hurry."

She nodded in return and stretched. Gaston noticed that she didn't apologize for falling asleep, in fact she hadn't apologized for a number of things she used to without a second thought and that made him feel oddly proud although he was sure if Belle had broken the habit it was more due to her life here in the city and perhaps her relationship with that man.

The Belle he had known before would often feel bad for things she assumed were inconveniences to others, even at their insistence that she was never a burden. Her more confident nod brought back memories of the four friends gathered over a pitcher of beer as Stanley made a more timid Belle practice asking for what she wanted with confidence and not giving into a need to apologize for it later. She was reluctant at first but over time it was what made her relationship with Stanley special.

That a girl as beautiful and intelligent as she was could hold both a very firm and confident side to herself along with parts more hesitant only pulled him in more when they were younger, his feelings often not thwarted when his open declarations of affection brought out her temper. Years may have passed but his attraction to the complicated brunette remained.

Not now, he warned his eager heart as he jumped out of the truck to run around and open her door for her, trying to remain firmly in the present.

"Thank you, Gaston," Belle said softly, using the frame of his vehicle to jump down to the ground. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

He smiled down at her, watching her closely until her eyes met his again, his chest tightening at the spark he imagined may be there between them but he didn't dare move another inch.

"Tomorrow," he agreed and waited until she had gone through the apartment complex's door before returning to his truck and driving away.

When he arrived back at his hotel, Gaston picked up his phone and scrolled through his list of contacts until he found her name. He hated that he couldn't make himself send her a text to say good night and that he couldn't move past where he name was lit up on his screen, staring instead for several minutes doubting every moment they had shared over the past two days as he remembered the look of pity on Belle's face when she had come to tell him goodbye with her newer and better boyfriend standing close behind her. Maybe I should give up.

He chucked the phone aside and settled in the covers more, sending up a silent prayer that he could have a dreamless night.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Gaston rolled over, annoyed at the sound interrupting his sleep and tried to open his eyes to see the room was still dark. With a glare, he looked over the door when the loud knocking came again, half ready throw something at it to make the disturbing sound stop.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Really?" he barked out, grabbing ahold of the alarm clock next to the bed to see with disgust that the red numbers declared it to be 5:36 in the morning. It was far too early to be awake on a Saturday morning, especially on a vacation. If this is how service was at this hotel, he would be happy to leave first thing tomorrow.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Come on, sleepy head! Let me in!" Gaston heard the voice of his now former best friend call through the door along with a shaking sound of what he assumed was food, LeFou's favorite way to placate him.

"Of all the people! It's not even 6 a.m., LeBastard!" Gaston grumbled back before yanking the covers off his body and stumbling awkwardly out of the bed. A short series of unsure steps brought him across the hotel room to the door. Not bothering to put anything over his exposed chest, he adjusted his plaid pajama bottoms and yanked door open with force. Glaring at the shorter man standing in front of him, he said through clenched teeth, "Shouldn't you be cuddling with your almost husband instead of banging down my door?"

LeFou took his bad mood with stride, something he had plenty of practice with, and jiggled the paper bag in front of him. "Oh now, where's the brilliant hunter who wakes up before dawn with his gear at the ready? I thought we'd have breakfast together today, that's all. No need to be so grumpy."

"You should count yourself lucky I don't have a hunting rifle with me here, LeFou," he quirked back before opening the door wider to let him in. "And breakfast could have waited for 8 a.m. like civilized people."

LeFou chortled in response and set down a paper bag filled with an assortment of bagels and cream cheese containers on the kitchenette counter and began to unpack it far too happily for Gaston's taste. Sighing overdramatically to gain some sort of sympathy from his friend which was not returned, Gaston plopped down on one of the bar stools next to the counter.

"You still haven't answered why you are here instead of home. On your damn wedding day of all mornings, you should be at home."

"Well, I rang up Belle but she was already up and out for a long bike ride. Which means she's going to her shop most likely and once she's there, she doesn't leave for hours. And I was going to call you first but I figured you'd tell me to fuck off so I brought you breakfast and risked rejection in person." LeFou turned and gave Gaston a puppy-eyed look. "You wouldn't kick me out now would you, old friend?"

Less gruffly, he answered, "No, of course, I won't and you knew that already before you barged in here." He didn't push any further but Gaston was suspicious his friend was more nervous about the ceremony coming up in a few hours than he wanted to admit.

A recorded sound of birds' chirping made LeFou stop his breakfast assembly to fish his phone from his pocket. "Oops, that's Belle. Guess I forgot to let her know I changed plans."

Gaston grunted and grabbed an everything bagel, ripping chunks off to dip inside a container of plain cream cheese before gulping down the single serve container of orange juice. "D'you at least bring coffee at this ungodly hour?"

LeFou gave him a sheepish look. "Uh...that's my second oops of the morning. I'm allowed three right?" he asked playfully before continuing to tap his thumbs against his phone's screen.

"You better not be actively planning the third one," Gaston said, nodding his head at LeFou's phone and only receiving a grin in return. He sighed heavily again, jamming the next chunk of bagel into the silver container with gusto. In a warning tone, he continued, "LeFou, if you invite that woman over here before I can even manage to think properly, you'll be marrying Stanley in a hospital gown today. Things are complicated enough without seeing her first thing today."

LeFou avoided his eyes and cut a bagel for himself in half before putting the two pieces into the toaster. "It might help your efforts if she sees you like this, you know." He indicated to Gaston's shirtless chest. "I think you've got even more muscles since last time I saw you. All that work at the lodge, eh?"

Gaston wished his friend's comment didn't make him want to puff out his chest but he had never been one able to resist a well-placed compliment. He saw LeFou's brown eyes narrow as he smirked, knowing he had hit his mark.

"At any rate, Stanley is spending the day with his family and probably primping until right before the ceremony starts. I won't take nearly as long so I'd say we have a good...oh," LeFou glanced down at his phone again. "Seven hours to kill. Oh! And look here... Belle says she's up for exploring the city today with us and she's bringing coffee!"

Gaston groaned and asked, "You're not going to stop meddling are you?"

"Do you really want me to?"

He wished he could have answered back a resounding yes that he was done chasing after a woman who obviously didn't want anything to do with him, and for good reasons, but as LeFou slid over a selfie Belle had just sent him with her holding a catering sized container of coffee from Cup o' Love tagged with a message that she was on her way, Gaston found his mouth not able to form the word. He shook his head instead, earning him another chuckle from LeFou.

"Let me ask you something in return, then," Gaston leaned forward to look his friend in the eye. "Why are you really doing this get together this morning? Why not stay at home and relax for a few hours?"

LeFou moved to sit on the other barstool next to him and dragged over his plate before answering. "I'm nervous, of course, for the thing..the wedding and all that... but I keep looking at Stanley and his family and how happy they all are together," he paused before Gaston prodded him gently in the arm to continue. "Alright, well, here's the thing. I've got only my uncle really who I don't care to talk too often to...and then I've got you but you're off in the woods back home most of the time. Belle's got school and her shop and… oh, I just find myself jealous of Stanley's family and how close they all are. You know we're having a small wedding and all that but mostly because I don't have anyone to invite. Well, you know what I mean.

"I miss hanging out. I miss when you and Belle were...whatever you were and things were easy. I think sometimes that moving here was the best choice we could have made but sometimes I see what's going on back and home...and well, I wonder if it really was. I work a high-stress assistant job here and Stanley's getting more and more involved in fashion. After today, things will be permanent here."

He listened quietly to his friend's confession before leaning even closer to rest his head on his shoulder, a move that always made LeFou laugh at the silliness of it. Gaston smiled when he felt his friend's shoulder shake with his chuckle and received a pat on the head before sitting back up to look at LeFou again. "That was four years ago at least. It might not happen again," he said more seriously. "I know things changed. You all moved away and made a new life here because you wanted something more and I have confidence you will continue to make the life you want here. I'm in the middle of my own mess back home and trust me, it's not as sunny as think it might be now. Maybe we aren't meant to go backward."

"Yeah, I know that but I can't help but try. We came close though the other night, didn't we?"

Gaston nodded and patted him on the back. "You're the best kind of people, LeFou. For you, I will drag myself around this city and then dance the night away with you later until my legs fall off. Does that sound alright?"

LeFou gave him an enthusiastic smile, "Thanks. You're the best kind of people too, Gaston. You only have to realize it again."

When he emerged from the shower a little while later, Gaston listened closely for any sounds in the other room that Belle had arrived, relieved when he only heard Lefou's off-key humming. Quickly he dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, running his hands through his thick black hair until it stayed in place how he liked it and emerged back into the main room, grateful to see a second bagel prepared for him sitting on the counter.

LeFou picked back up his phone, tapping out a text. "Belle's waiting downstairs, I told her to wait a few minutes until you were ready. And, before you ask, I've already picked up around here so there's no reason not to invite her up." A quick scan of the room revealed the freshly made bed and the pile of dirty clothes Gaston had left beside it already tucked away.

He snorted, "I should let you run my life. You'd do a much better job at it."

His friend threw a bit of bagel crumb at him before replying, "I'll make you regret saying that when you see what I have planned for the three of us today. Did you know the tallest building here has a place where you can look over the whole city?" At Gaston's instant reaction, LeFou said sweetly, "Oops." and scurried over to answer the door for Belle.

"That's a fourth oops! You've overdrawn for the day!"


	6. Chapter 6

"What could LeFou have overdrawn this early in the morning?" Belle asked as she entered his room with LeFou following closely behind carrying a dark tote bag and the box-like container of coffee. It looked like the two had accidentally matched their clothes, both wearing faded blue jeans and the same shade of pale blue. Gaston swallowed a grumble, glancing down at his much darker plaid shirt.

His friend chuckled and waved off her question as he walked back to the counter. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Ol' grumpy Gaston making threats he'll never act on, is all."

Gaston's hand reached out instinctively with an urge to help LeFou carry in her bags, the prideful part of him not liking another man helping her out or the way she thanked him with a bright smile. He quelled the urge to do or say something stupid by shoving a torn-off chunk of bagel in his mouth, focusing instead on counting each chew, knowing this was adding to the far cheerier two friends in front of him to call him a grump.

It really was far too early to have Belle around him. He could smell her now familiar flowery perfume as she began to dig through the canvas bag for paper cups, tiny packages of sugar, and cream and he could feel her eyes on him when he glared down at the counter as she chatted with LeFou without saying a word to him first. Gaston knew rationally she had only been there for less than a minute, that she had agreed to come to his room at all was a near miracle, and yet he had a hard time being rational when the beautiful brunette was around, especially now that he had admitted, mostly to himself, how he felt around her. That he was beginning to be jealous of his very taken and gay friend was doing nothing to help him shake off his morning crankiness.

Gaston snuck a glance at her from the side of his eye, equally delighted and dismayed to see Belle's hair in her usual ponytail with a light colored shirt that exposed where her neck joined her shoulders, pulling his thoughts further into fantasies best left for when he was alone. _Pull yourself together,_ a saner part of his mind chided _._ Swallowing the now mushed bite of bagel, Gaston engaged back again with the conversation around him.

"Well, it does look like all three of us are on board for a tourist day in the city. Including," LeFou drew out the word teasingly while giving Belle a pointed look, "a visit to the top of the Marquette Tower."

She raised a brow, glancing over to him in surprise. "Mm, and how exactly did he get you to agree to that? The highest thing I've seen you on was a tree stand before you opted to hunt without them."

"Oh I don't know, Belle, he fixed that patch in your father's roof, didn't he? That was two stories up," Lefou interjected, coming to make him look better than he felt _as always_ , earning a playful eye roll from Belle.

"I was bribed with bagels and coffee," Gaston replied and raised the last chunk of his third bagel in a mock salute.

She grinned in return, "Well, let me be sure to keep up my end then. Oh, and thank you again for last night. I must have been more tired than I thought!"

He nodded back, enjoying watching her as she busied herself with prepping the three cups and cutting a bagel in half for herself.

"I'm afraid it's just plain coffee for you both today. Hopefully, that's alright." Belle placed a coffee with cream and sugar in front of LeFou whose eyebrows were knitted as he looked down at the dark liquid, his preference for lighter drinks topped with whipped cream apparently well known to Belle. She then set a black coffee with no extra little packets at his place on the counter. "No cinnamon for you either, Gaston, if you can handle it."

"There's not much I can't handle." Gaston did little to resist giving her a wink, his chest tightening at the slight blush he saw on her cheeks, spurring him on. "I see there's no hazelnut either? However will _you_ manage?" he joked back before taking a sip, nearly sighing in relief at the smooth taste and the energy he knew was soon to come from it.

She grinned again, wrinkling her nose at him as she leaned over the counter a bit more, the barest hint of cleavage peeking through. The boldness of her movement caught him by surprise, reminding him that this woman was the same one who never backed down from him before. "Oh, I made sure to get the coffee I wanted before heading into this little adventure. I always get what I want in the end, if you remember?"

This time it was Belle who winked to his surprise before she turned away to hide the full blush creeping across her skin, just before LeFou gave him an encouraging pat on the back. _I remember it well_ , he thought and quickly downed along long gulp of the hot coffee to distract his mind from pleasure-filled memories of one night in particular that a very bold Belle Duerre got exactly what she wanted.

* * *

He had to hand it to LeFou, the morning had turned out to be better than he had imagined it when he had first been pulled out of bed. After Belle shared coffee with them, they headed to catch on of the metro buses for a grand tour of the city, led by the matching pair as they pointed out to him all of their favorite and not-so-favorite places.

In two hours, Gaston saw famous landmarks he had only seen in postcards, took selfies with his friends in front of spray-painted images of musicians he barely knew and shared a donut made of pasta and cheese with LeFou while Belle snapped pictures of gooey cheese dripping down their chins. He could almost see the tension leaving his friend's shoulders as he focused on dragging them from location to location, the three in a silent vow to not mention the ceremony a few hours away.

It felt like the old days, except better because they were older now and each more sure of themselves.

Gaston noticed how LeFou didn't look to him as much for approval and how he lead their makeshift pack from location to location with confidence. Gaston also saw how Belle easily took the lead in navigating them between the bus lines, her love of the city evident. He hoped they saw that he had changed too and no longer felt the need to beg the beautiful brunette to sit beside him, comfortable enough to let her approach him when she wanted to instead.

Things seemed to be easier between them, without having been spoken, he felt as if Belle was offering him an olive branch, one he gladly took. There were many moments where their eyes would catch he could see warmth in her glances before she looked away, a sly smile on her face.

Belle laughed cheerfully with them, at one point nearly spitting out water when he carried LeFou bridal style across a threshold of a gaudy trinket shop at the smaller man's insistence. She even shared something called a bubble tea with him, only giggling lightly at his distaste for the sudden mouthful of tapioca pearls while LeFou snapped a quick photo of the unflattering moment. The morning made Gaston feel lighter than he had in a long time and hopeful that before the weekend's end they could spend more time alone together at her coffee shop.

Eventually, the trio made their way to the tan colored skyscraper, a remaining piece of the old city nestled between taller and more modern buildings.

"Don't worry, buddy." LeFou whispered to him as Belle pushed open the front doors and walked over to a ticketing window. "This is all part of my master plan."

Gaston nodded, clenching his jaw, not wanting to hear of whatever foolish idea his friend had by dragging him to a tall building in front the woman he liked and instead followed them in silence, letting Lefou grab his elbow and pull him into the crowded elevator, making room for Belle in front of them.

As the lighted numbers rose higher, Gaston felt Belle move closer to them, her back brushed lightly against his chest. Despite his wish to pull her even closer, he shuffled a few inches away from her, wanting to give her space, which she apparently didn't want as Belle took one small step back to once again rest lightly against him. It wasn't much a touch, though it was far more than he had felt from her in years, making his head feel overcrowded with thoughts, even more, when she let her head fall back to rest right under his chin, her eyes focused on the lighted red number changing on the panel above them.

 _She has to know this feels like home_ , he tried to reason silently, wondering if her easy-going ways with him today were a sign of wanting to repair their friendship or something more, even if he knew the chances of a _more_ between them were slim. He had hurt her too much.

Seconds ticked along with the rising numbers until the elevators stopped to a halt at the 32nd floor, the loud tone signaling their stop had arrived breaking the spell of the moment between them. Belle was one of the first out of the elevator, looking shyly back at him through the crowd as he grabbed onto LeFou this time, trying to get through the tourists gathered to be near her once again nearly oblivious to the full-length windows around them.

"Oh, here we are!" LeFou shouted out with a grand and dramatic sweeping of his arms as if they were somehow the only ones on the observation deck. "This is the very top of the Marquette Tower, which was the tallest building in the city for oh-"

"About 40 years," Belle supplied.

"Yes!" His friend agreed enthusiastically as a few other tourists gathered closer to them with their phones snapping photos of what they probably assumed was an official tour guide for the second time that day. "It isn't the tallest anymore but still rather grand and has views for miles!"

At this announcement, Belle and LeFou moved closer to the windows lining the small observation room, followed closely by the small group of tourists LeFou's speech had intrigued. Gaston inhaled deeply, dipping his chin closer to his chest as he tried to avoid seeing the open sky beyond the floor to ceiling glass looking instead at the bounce of Belle's ponytail as a focal point as his feet hesitantly slid closer to the more open section of the observation deck beyond the safety of the walls near the elevator.

There wasn't much he was truly afraid of, at least not physically, but as much as he tried to hide it, he was afraid of being up high. Mostly due to a recurring nightmare that always seemed to come stronger on his worst days, of falling off a tall building, jolting him awake covered in sweat and shaking. It was at times like this, although he certainly hadn't put himself anywhere this high before, that Gaston wished he could still tap into the mask he used to wear so easily, the one of a careless and fearless young man who never hesitated. Sobriety and heartbreak had ripped that persona from him, forcing Gaston to be more honest with who he was and how he presented himself and yet he felt it calling back to him in moments of vulnerability along with worries that his less confident side would be the thing people would hate the most.

This felt like a test, one he wanted to pass and one he was sure didn't require him to hide how he was feeling. Both Belle and LeFou had made it clear they never liked it when he hid behind falseness before, he was determined however strange it felt to conquer both getting over the windows that showed a certain death below and to do it without slipping into a character he had worked to repress. He looked around the room to see two of the most important people to him waving him over encouragingly, neither had looks of judgment or pity only friendship and understanding. Gaston inhaled deeply, pulling his head higher and took several long strides forward to meet them.

* * *

Belle smiled watching Gaston puff out his chest as he walked nervously across the room, wondering if he knew how much more endearing he looked without the false bravado she knew he put on in years past. If this had been the man walking across the street to tell her how beautiful she was, Belle knew she would have said yes the first time.

When he finally reached them, she could see a glimmer of pride in his face as Gaston looked over to see both of them beaming at him. "Come here," she said softly before reaching out to grasp one of his hands, firmly pushing back the way her whole body seemed to hum at the simple touch to pay attention to Gaston's changing emotions instead.

Slowly they walked together closer to where the glass windows met the floor, Belle linked with Gaston on one side and LeFou grasping his hand on the other. She could feel the muscles in his arms tighten, his fear of being close to where the city seemed to open up below them evident.

"You don't have to do this, you know. Coming up here and being open to the experience even if you'd rather stay on the ground is more than enough." Belle looked up, urging him to turn his head from the windows to look at her. "You don't have to but I think you will be happy if you do."

"You've got this, Gaston," LeFou coaxed. "This glass is strong...like you."

The dark haired man nodded stiffly, training his eyes back at the few steps more they needed to talk. Belle continued to hold his hand, rubbing a thumb gently across the slightly rough skin of the back of his hand, cooing affirmations as they took one step, then four more until all three of them were nearly flush to the glass. She watched closely as he let out a ragged, trembling breath before moving his head at snail's pace down to look over the city.

They reminded there together for a long minute until LeFou pulled away to step behind them and she could hear the clicking sound of his phone's camera. Belle leaned in closer to Gaston, urging his arm to move around her shoulders as she rested her head against him. He was still anxious, she would tell that by the slight tremors she felt against her but he seemed to calm more as they stood close together overlooking her new home.

At last she spoke, careful to choose the right words. "Gaston, I've known you for a long time and I have never seen you show fear before." As Belle suspected, he grunted and started to pull away before she hurried to finish her thought. "Please just listen. I- I like that you are being honest. It's what I had wanted before when we…"

He moved then, turning his body away from the windows, holding the tops of her shoulders lightly as she stood now directly in front of him. Gaston's hazel eyes met hers, the emotions there more intense than she remembered them ever being. "When we what?" he asked, his voice soft but pleading. "I've been trying to put a word on what we were before. On what I destroyed."

Belle felt her throat tighten, a lump of unshed emotions hitting her all at once. She wanted to tell him nothing is ever one person's fault but clearly now was not the time for it. They both deserved a private moment to put right mistakes and hurts of the past. "I don't know," she whispered. "We were... _us._ A together form of us. We were young."

"And now?" She felt his hands tighten on her shoulders, the warmth coming from him a comfort and yet too much at the same time. Though she knew he never meant for it to, his touch confused her even more.

"And now we are two people who need to focus on our friends tonight and then," Belle reached up to gently pull away from his grasp. "Then, we can talk about us."

The bustling sounds of the observation deck came back into her focus as she watched a crease in his forehead deepen. "You said I would be happy if I did this," he motioned to the sea of buildings behind him where he still leaned against the glass, his fear of heights obviously distracted by the shift in conversation.

"You did something you were nervous to do. Does that not make you happy?" Gaston shrugged in response, a slight pout on his face that made her want to giggle, which thankfully she did not. "I can't be responsible for your happiness, Gaston. You know that. Now, let's find LeFou and get out of here. I think he has a lunch planned for us in the restaurant off the lobby."

Belle reached out a hand, offering to guide him back over to the elevators, feeling the dip in her stomach as he took it. As they walked over to LeFou, Gaston dipped his head down to whisper close to her ear, creating a shiver that joined the other sensations the far too handsome made caused in her. His voice was soft, his breath tickling her skin but it was his words that sent the most shock to her.

"Thank you, Belle, for helping me."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a refreshing of a fic I had on here last year... in case it seems familiar. Frequent updates.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
